I WISH I’D BEEN THERE

We asked you to be a fly on the wall and answer the question: What is the one scene, incident or event in Ismaili history you would like to have witnessed — and why?

Simerg published thirty one contributions over a period of nine weeks for this highly anticipated series. We began the series on Wednesday April 7, 2010, with Hussein Rashid’s intriguing piece, The Mind of Yazid, the Faith of Hussein and concluded on June 17 with Jehangir Merchant’s Ghadir-Khumm and the Two Weighty Matters.

Individual articles in the series may be accessed by clicking on the links or images shown below. The illustrated narratives are also available in a single PDF file. To download this wonderful publication please click I Wish I’d Been There Series – PDF

IMAGE: A MEDIEVAL SCENE – ARMY AND TENTS SET IN A VALLEY IN THE MIDST OF MOUNTAINS

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IMAGE: JUST OVER A THOUSAND YEARS AGO, THE STELLAR EXPLOSION KNOWN AS SUPERNONVA SN 1006 WAS OBSERVED AND RECORDED BY FATIMID ASTRONOMER IBN RIDWAN. THIS COMPOSITE VIEW INCLUDES X-RAY DATA IN BLUE FROM CHANDRA OBSERVATORY, OPTICAL DATA IN YELLOWISH HUES AND RADIO IMAGE DATA IN RED.

IMAGE: AN ANTIQUE PEN, A THUMBNAIL PHOTO OF ALI VELJI AND A LINE FROM HIS GUJARATI NOTEBOOK

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Karim Maherali: Pir Satgur Nur - Miracles in Ginan 'Putla'

IMAGE: The Mausoleum of Pir Satgur Nur in Navsari, Gujarat, India, and a thumbnail depicting a putla (idol).

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Arif Babul: "Khawja Nasir Tusi's Tales"

IMAGE: TOP LEFT IS IMAGE CROPPED FROM AZERBAIZAN STAMP COMMEMORATING TUSI’S 800TH ANIVERSARY, THEN CLOCKWISE: TUSI WITH STUDENTS, MARAGHA OBSERVATORY, MONGOL SIEGE AT ALAMUT, CONTEMPORARY ART WORK OF THE ALAMUT CASTLE AND ADJOINING VALLEY

IMAGE: HASAN-I SABBAH ACQUIRED THE FORTRESS OF ALAMUT FROM A CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL NAMED MAHDI, AND GAVE A DRAFT OF 3,000 GOLD DINARS AS THE PRICE OF THE CASTLE. THE VELLUM DOCUMENT IN THE CENTRE OF THE IMAGE IS DEEMED TO BE A LATER COPY OF THIS DRAFT. PHOTO: THE INSTITUTE OF ISMAILI STUDIES.

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Altaf Hajiyani: "Love for Ali"

IMAGE: A MODERN COMPUTER-AIDED SHI`ITE CALLIGRAPHIC DESIGN, WITH THE NAME OF `ALI IN THE CENTER. CALLIGRAPHY HAS THE PROPHET’S WORDS “DHIKR ALI IBADA” (REMEMBRANCE OF ALI IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP).” SOURCE: AL-ISLAM.ORG

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Raheel Lakhani: "Ikhwan al-Safa"

IMAGE: THE EARLIEST MANUSCRIPT (LEFT) OF THE RASA’IL IN THE INSTITUTE OF ISMAILI STUDIES COLLECTION PROBABLY ORIGINATES FROM SYRIA AND WAS COPIED IN THE MID-THIRTEENTH CENTURY; OTHER MANUSCRIPTS IN THE COLLECTION WERE COPIED BETWEEN THE SIXTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES IN PERSIA AND INDIA. CREDIT: THE INSTITUTE OF ISMAILI STUDIES.

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Jehangir A. Merchant: "Ghadir-Khumm and the Two Weighty Matters"

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Design and Art Work by Nurin Merchant, Grade 12, Colonel By Secondary School Ottawa. Copyright: Simerg.com

Thumbnail images in outer border depict scenes from Ismaili history.

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It seems incomplete to experience this fantastic voyage through history without expressing my praise, delight and indebtedness to you for this amazing trampoline of knowledge, of service. Alhamdulillah

Thanks for making the series available in PDF document. Having re-read the contributions and from the comments received, I must say, the series has been enjoyed by both the young and the old. It is like living and learning the Ismaili history through virtual time.

Nellie, how fortunate to have had such an illustrious great grandfather. I have always been fascinated by the Visram family – the school was such a constant reminder, especially the architecture and it has certainly stood the passage of time. Years later, when I was a student in England, I met one of his daughters in law, at the Ismaili Centre, 5 Palace Gate. She was such a gracious lady, she mentored all the new students, kept in touch with them, talked to them, and there was at that time, an influx of refugees from the Congo and she was more than a mother, and a friend. She was affectionately called Bebibai. After my return to Kenya, some years later, I also met one of his great grandsons, who was working for an oil company in Nigeria and was on holiday in Kenya, and had taken time to look at the school. All those who hail from East Africa have certainly met and been with the Paroo family members as well as the Topan family. I met Dr. Farouk Topan at SOAS in London. All the very best to you Nellie.

Congratulations for making available this site and in particular the new series “I Wish I’d Been There” – it is a brilliant idea and I hope you will keep the series open beyond May as I am sure many more people from all over the world would like to contribute. All the very best and I will keep reading.

Thank you, Zarina. The idea, as I noted in introduction to the series, was from “American Heritage” magazine which dedicated a section to American History under the same theme, “I Wish I’d Been There.” It has been in my head for 25 years…what a long wait! Thank you to all the authors as well as readers who are showing such a tremendous interest, judging from the readership. Please spread the word about Simerg.com